From Stefanie Ilgenfritz, bureau chief for health and science:

The coronavirus emanating from China is concerning for a number of reasons. It’s spreading quickly. It has a relatively high death rate compared with something like influenza (though less than the related SARS outbreak nearly two decades ago). And it is centered in a densely populated part of the world where international travel is increasingly common. It’s also new. Public health experts cannot say yet how long it will last, how far it will spread, and how deadly it could get. Public-health officials say the virus and the respiratory ailments it causes pose little risk in the U.S., where only 5 cases have been identified. And while there’s evidence it’s contagious even in the early stages before symptoms show, it appears to be far less contagious than SARS, whooping cough or measles. As governments, scientists and businesses around the world move to contain the outbreak The Wall Street Journal’s reporters have been pressing for explanations and chronicling the impact on the ground. Here’s a look at what we know.

— stefanie.ilgenfritz@wsj.com

The coronavirus has killed at least 132 people while infecting more than 6,000. The vast majority of those infected are in China.

VIDEO: WSJ’s Shan Li and Stephanie Yang traveled to Hubei, the Chinese province at the center of the new coronavirus epidemic. As authorities impose tighter quarantine rules, they were asked to spend 14 days indoors and undergo a strict routine. Photo: Arek Rataj/Associated Press

The World Health Organization is set to meet again Thursday to decide whether to declare the outbreak a public-health emergency of international concern. China's government has locked down several cities, restricted travel and movement and rushed to open new hospitals (▶️ video). Other countries, including the U.S., have scrambled to repatriate their citizens and have advised against travel to China. Officials have expanded screening for the virus to 20 U.S. airports.

• 🎧 The Journal podcast: The WSJ's Shan Li reports from the epicenter of the virus in China.
   
• Residents in locked down cities are battling both fear and boredom.
   
• An American mother's desperate attempt to get out of Wuhan with her daughter.

The outbreak is disrupting businesses around the world, from banks to retailers to airlines. Global firms are working to protect employees in or planning travel to China, while also dealing with dropping demand and its potential economic impact. Investors who began the year feeling largely sanguine about the stock market are struggling to make sense of whether the growing outbreak could upend their bets on a global economic recovery.

British Airways said it is canceling all flights to China, the first major airline to do so. Indonesia's Lion Air also said it would halt all flights to China, while American Airlines said it would suspend flights from Los Angeles to Shanghai and Beijing, citing a significant decline in demand. Other airlines were also cutting back service and the global aviation industry braced for a hit to revenue.

Starbucks, meanwhile, said it had temporarily closed more than half of its stores in China. Other chains, including McDonald's, have also closed stores.

Q&A: What You Need to Know

Passengers wear protective face masks at a train station in Hong Kong. PHOTO: KIN CHEUNG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

How dangerous is the new coronavirus?
It appears to be less deadly than a related pathogen—severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which erupted in China in 2002 and spread globally in 2003. SARS killed about 10% of the people it infected, while about 3% of the people confirmed to be infected with this new coronavirus have died. Many of those who have died are elderly or have other illnesses such as diabetes. But the new virus may spread from one person to another more easily than SARS, some early disease modeling suggests. By comparison, however, the influenza virus has killed an estimated 8,200 people in the U.S. alone this flu season, according to the CDC.

How is the virus spread among humans?
It is likely spread through a cough, kiss or other contact with saliva, Chinese officials say. MERS and SARS spread mainly through “respiratory droplets” produced when someone coughs or sneezes. Those two viruses spread mostly through close contact.

Can face masks protect you?
Health experts and mask makers say only a properly used reusable N95 respirator mask certified by an independent agency can both guard against the virus and protect others. Paper or polyurethane foam masks don’t filter out smaller particles responsible for transmitting infectious agents.

Get answers to more questions, including how risky the virus might be, where it might have come from, and what has been done to contain it in China so far, in our full article.

What Else We're Reading About the Virus

Artificial intelligence is becoming a useful tool to monitor and respond to the coronavirus outbreak. (STAT)

How coronavirus spreads on a plane. (National Geographic)

Bats are considered the probable source of the outbreak. How do they live with so many viruses? (New York Times)

Misinformation about the coronavirus is threatening to overwhelm tech platforms. (The Verge)

Map: Wuhan coronavirus global cases. (Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University)

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